Tiger King - Murder, Mayhem & Madness, but where are the animals?
Updated: May 26, 2020
Tiger King - Murder, Mayhem and Madness is the captivating Netflix docu-series which peels back the curtain of the crazy big cat industry in America. A cocktail of conflict of interests results in bitter feuds, accusations of someone feeding their husband to the tigers, an alleged cult, arson, a murder for hire plot, an incarceration (and oh… all you cool cats and kittens, that’s not even the half of it). But all this murder, mayhem and madness leaves the fundamental question we should be asking unanswered. Do animals in captivity really help conservation?
The first argument is that zoos help conservation as they facilitate breeding programmes for animals that are endangered in the wild. In the past 40 years alone, 52 percent of the world’s wildlife has disappeared from the face of the earth due to habitat loss, poaching, and climate change. As such, many scientists believe we have single-handedly caused the world’s sixth mass extinction of animal species [1]. Thus, back in 2011 when Louis Theroux asked Joe Exotic why he breeds tigers he said “So in 10-15 years when there is nothing left in the wild, we have some in captivity to replace them.”[2]
However, this defence is severely misleading as tigers born in captivity are not good candidates for releasing into the wild. As such "no captive bred tigers have ever been successfully released into the wild, and this includes tigers whose mothers were killed in the wild and were raised in enclosures in the middle of the forest with no tourists around. As soon as you let those cubs go, because they have been around humans, they go straight to a village, which endangers livestock or villagers themselves".[3] Captive tigers are unable to survive in the wild, as predation is taught by their mother, who the cubs minutes after their birth are separated from, in order to be used for cub-petting and photo-ops. In addition, captive tigers can transfer illnesses to wild populations (and vice versa) - which could be detrimental to the survival of the species.
Moreover, most animals in zoos are not members of endangered species. A study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that only 18 percent of land animals in zoo collections are threatened or endangered[4], as zoos opt to have the charismatic mammal and bird species which attract visitors. After all what child says, "Mummy, I want to see an axolotl! (ak·suh·lo·tl)"
Some claim that many big cats bred poorly in captivity have little conservational value. For instance, Joe Exotic in 2011 was attempting to breed a saber tooth tiger - through a concoction of haphazard hybridization.[5] Bhagavan (meaning 'blessed one' in Hinduism...) 'Doc' Antle, who runs the apparent 'Shangri La,' in comparison to the other facilities depicted in the series[6], claims he works with world class geneticists to breed white tigers and ligers [7] (a hybrid produced from a tiger and a lion).
However, this fails to abide by The Tiger Species Survival Plan devised by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Imogene Cancellare, a biological conservationist states that crossing totally different species to create creatures like “ligers” or intentionally inbreeding animals to produce white tigers ― is useless for conservation and only adds to the surplus of captive tigers already in the United States[8]. The inbreeding in order to create white tigers means they often suffer from genetic defects such as cleft lips, scoliosis of the spine, mental impairments, and crossed-eyes. A Humane Society undercover investigator claimed that Doc Antle euthanizes white tigers who are born cross-eyed[9]. The programme director for National Geographic Society's Big Cat Initiative states that he can't think of any justified reason for a liger to exist, as “If we want to recognize and honour big cats as they naturally occur in the wild, why would we possibly experiment in these completely unnatural and not biologically founded practices?”[10]
Assuming all tigers in the wild are extinct, would we be able to replace the population with tigers bred in captivity? No. This is because it is estimated that animal populations that are bred in captivity, exclusively with other captive animals, can only continue to be bred for 100 years. At this point, the populations become too inter-bred to be genetically viable[11].
That being said, zoos encourage people to care about endangered animals because after all if it’s out of sight it’s out of mind. Thus, inadvertently zoos help conservation. In talking about a tiger cub Joe states that he is “Raising him to respect me and I respect him enough that we both can stand there and teach you about his native land," [he is reminded that his native land is America] and so states "– his great, great, great grandfather’s native land - Siberia.”[2] Robert O. Wagner, executive director of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA) argues that zoos can help instil in humans a respect for animals, as the captive animals are ''ambassadors for their kind still in the wild.''[12] Almost all zoos today have an education staff and programs depicting the plights of various species in the wild. Arguably, this is more important than ever, as London Zoo's chief organisation operating officer says, “Never have more people lived in urban environments and felt disconnected from wildlife.”[13] As such Antle calls the photo encounters offered at his safari, ‘preservation stations’,'[14] encouraging participants to think that their $400 ticket, is a win-win: they get a picture with a tiger cub, and they in turn prevent tigers from going extinct.
On the other hand, environmental ethicists such as Dale Jamieson argue that zoos achieve the reverse effect, as they inflate the human 'superiority' complex, which lies at the root of human-induced environmental problems.[12] A study conducted from a pool of over 2,800 children after they had visited the London Zoo, found that 62 percent of them showed no indication of having learned new information about animal or environmental conservation. The report concluded that visiting a zoo can, in fact, produce a “negative learning outcome.” Its findings showed that the children “did not feel empowered to believe that they can take ‘effective ameliorative action’ on matters relating to conservation after their zoo experience.” [15]
So, is the curtain closing on the zoo? As we have discussed previously the idea that zoos should keep and breed threatened species until such time as suitable conditions exist for reintroduction to the wild - The Noah’s Ark paradigm - has been unsuccessful. Due to a) the small percentage of endangered species actually exhibited in zoos, and b) the failure of reintroduction programs. The rejection of the zoo as we know it has resulted in the emergence of the 'unzoo'. Developed by Jon Coe and Ray Mendez, instead of exhibiting animals in traditional enclosures for the benefit of humans, an 'unzoo' invites visitors into natural habitats in which cages or barriers are removed or concealed and wild.
If zoos really want to help conservation they should be located in the environment of the endangered species. Most of the big zoos are located in temperate, rich, northern hemisphere cities, but the endangered species they hold are generally tropical, and so the conditions necessary to prepare animals for release into the wild are hard to replicate. If these institutions were developed in the areas closer to where the animals would be re-released, re-introductions would be more successful.[16] This would provide jobs in impoverished areas where people turn to poaching to make ends meet. In turn tackling one of the root causes why the animals are endangered. This is the sustainable conservation that is required - ensuring that these endangered animals have a safe environment in the first place.
In conclusion, the directors of 'Tiger King,' Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin both hold that the five years of filming started off as producing the Big Cat version of 'Blackfish.'[17] The drift away from this focus to a true crime reality show mirrors the loss of focus of the big cat owners featured in the documentary. Saff, former worker at Joe's park states poignantly, “none of their issues had anything to with the care of the animals – and that’s the saddest part.”[18] The editors who know what streaming giants like Netflix want, expose our human disinterestedness with the current plight of animals. A plight that we have induced.
The additional episode which aired on Sunday 12th April, rather than rectify the fact that the endangered animals in the show were diminished to a backdrop, for the eccentricity of Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin and Doc Antle, and utilizing the massive audience the show has generated, the Q & A-style episode, with questions about who should play who if it got turned into a film, felt like Netflix was wringing the cow dry for all its worth, and wondering when the next cow was on its way. This blatant disinterestedness highlights how animals are endangered in the first place - we destroy their habitat, we hunt them for money, we buy them for our selfish ends, or we never even think about the fact that there are endangered animals because well, we're not directly doing any of these things. Perhaps, a large part of it is that we don't want to be reminded of our own ineptitude - why feel terrible about something you can't change?
Well, there are many things we can do as consumers. The documentary revealed at the end there are 5,000 - 10,000 captive tigers in North America and fewer than 10,000 in the wild. The reason that facilities like Joe Exotic's G.W. Exotic Park and Antle's Myrtle Beach Safari breed cubs annually, is to ensure that they have the cubs that visitors pay to have pictures with. If there were no paying customers - this practice would not be profitable and would stop - they're businesses after all.
Think twice before visiting a zoo, know how much that zoo contributes to conservation, and use this to base your decision on whether you give your money to it. More often than not sanctuaries - these are facilities that do not breed animals - can be the safest bet. And yes, that does mean that I don't think Carole Baskin is as bad as Joe. I said what I said (but whether someone got fed to the tigers, that's a discussion for later...)
“Let ‘em run the jungle/ let ‘em roam their land/ Then stand back and marvel/ What a beautiful cat” - Joe Exotic, former owner of a zoo
If you are a resident in America, you can also help pass the Big Cat Safety Act, through filling out this short form: https://action.ifaw.org/page/39891/action/1gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzqDx0Zq76AIVAspkCh2dnwgeEAAYAiAAEgK5D_D_BwE
References
[1] One Green Planet. (2015). Can Zoos Really be the Key to Bringing Endangered Species Back From the Brink? [online] Available at: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/zoos-bringing-endangered-species-back-from-the-brink/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[2] BBC iPlayer. (2020). Louis Theroux - America’s Most Dangerous Pets. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b016yklh/louis-theroux-americas-most-dangerous-pets [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[3] Norton |, K.J. (2020). The Truth About “Tiger King” And Cats in Captivity | Blog | Nature | PBS. [online] Nature. Available at: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/the-truth-about-tiger-king-and-cats-in-captivity/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[4] PETA. (2016). Zoos May Actually Hurt Conservation Efforts, Not Help Them | PETA. [online] Available at: https://www.peta.org/features/zoo-conservation-captive-breeding/.
[5] BBC iPlayer. (2020). Louis Theroux - America’s Most Dangerous Pets. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b016yklh/louis-theroux-americas-most-dangerous-pets [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[6] Flagrant 2 (2020). A Convo With Doc Antle (Tiger King) | Andrew Schulz. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyiymjI1Hm8.
[7] Von, T. (2020). Tiger King’s Bhagavan “Doc” Antle | This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #271. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUbNPoBp6FM [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[8] Hanson, H. (2020). Here’s What Wild Animal Experts Want You To Know About “Tiger King.” [online] Huffington Post. Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/tiger-king-animal-experts-scientists_n_5e83ba5dc5b65dd0c5d5ba98?ri18n=true&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly9jb25zZW50LnlhaG9vLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAAyPqE0wtaESrenPEhs_q5wotFEapSzMxgtuNCJ4NvLqO1j0dqvAhaiTJWbjDw_X-K5I_zn_IRl0O2peKzsmGUkTza 3Tg82apWipGCRQxgMFeHimwM69slRatTYVtIS4Esw5KQ_1YIvzwsOZjPxbQ3PoHWSY9lnyOwvTZ53Jk-B [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[9] The Humane Society of the United States. (2020). What “Tiger King” didn’t reveal: Animal abuse and an extensive network of breeding and selling tigers led by Joe Exotic and “Doc” Antle. [online] Available at: https://www.humanesociety.org/news/what-tiger-king-didnt-reveal-animal-abuse-and-extensive-network-breeding-and-selling-tigers.
[10] Actman, J. (2017). Cat Experts: Ligers and Other Designer Hybrids Pointless and Unethical. [online] Nationalgeographic.com. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/02/wildlife-watch-liger-tigon-big-cat-hybrid/.
[11] Henn, C. (2015). Can Zoos Really be the Key to Bringing Endangered Species Back From the Brink? [online] One Green Planet. Available at: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/zoos-bringing-endangered-species-back-from-the-brink/.
[12] F. Salisbury, D. (1982). One philosopher’s argument for abolishing zoos. [online] Christian Science Monitor. Available at: https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0831/083149.html [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[13] Cookson, C. (2019). What is the role of zoos today? The captivity v conservation debate. [online] www.ft.com. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/08c03ade-1667-11ea-9ee4-11f260415385 [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[14] Myrtle Beach Safari. (2017). Tour Options – Tigers | Myrtle Beach Safari. [online] Available at: https://myrtlebeachsafari.com/experience-tigers/# [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[15] Ward, S (2016). Does Keeping Animals Captive Really Help Kids Learn How to Respect Them? [online] One Green Planet. Available at: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/does-keeping-animals-captive-really-help-kids-learn-how-to-respect-them/.
[16] Frontier Gap (2014). What Do Zoos Do For Conservation? [online] The Dodo. Available at: https://www.thedodo.com/what-is-the-role-of-zoos-in-co-742007560.html.
[17] Netflix UK & Ireland (2020). Why I Made Tiger King | The Story Behind The Documentary. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTo-_oQlnZA [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].
[18] Lights Out with David Spade (2020). Spade Chats With Kelci Saffery from Netflix’s “Tiger King” - Lights Out Lo-Fi Chats (Mar 27, 2020). YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRrdEWjKqAU [Accessed 11 Apr. 2020].